Kookas flex muscles in commanding South Coast Cricket win over Magpies

The Kookas were in early trouble at 2/20 when Monie joined Bramble at the crease in their South Coast Cricket One-Day encounter with Berry-Shoalhaven Heads at Oakleigh Park. By the time Bramble was the next man dismissed for 112, the pair had added 197 runs to put their side in a commanding position.

Monie would push on to score an unbeaten 104 as the Magpies finished on 4/252 from their allotted 50 overs. Max Carr-McCarron and Daniel Troy took two wickets apiece for the visitors.

The Magpies were under pressure at 2/5 but fought hard in reply. They were bundled out for 191 in 44 overs - 61 runs short - with Callum Crapp top-scoring with 46 while Robert Speers led the Kookas' attack with 4/22.

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The result means the Kookas have won three straight games, and captain Paul Clarke praised the Bramble-Monie partnership for setting the tone on Saturday.

"They went out and batted really smart. Having Craig with him was a good advantage for Jake in terms of being able to put the innings together and it worked really well," Clarke said.

"They paced themselves nicely and kept a target in mind for what they wanted to do, they went to their work and it came up trumps for us in the end.

"We had a bit of a goal at the start. We thought 200 would be a good score on that wicket, and anything between 200 and 250 would be competitive. So to get to where we got was a really nice outcome."

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Elsewhere, Lake Illawarra fired a warning shot to their South Coast rivals by claiming a comprehensive 112-run win over the Rail. The Lakers compiled an imposing 6/264 from 50 overs before restricting their rivals to 152, with Mitch Constantinou and Ryan Smith taking three wickets each.

The Cavaliers also secured a convincing 60-run victory against North Nowra-Cambewarra, with Liam Mackrell (73) and Zac Parker (59) posting half-centuries, and Dale Scifleet picking up five wickets.

Bomaderry and Shellharbour also won on Saturday.

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